Digi International has just announced the Digi XBee3 series of RF modules and cellular IoT modules. The modules will be available in the existing Digi XBee SMT amd through-hole form factor, as well as a new micro form factor (19×13 mm) that’s about a third of the size of the original XBee RF module.

The RF modules will first come with ZigBee 3.0 and IEEE 802.15 support, but Bluetooth LE will be available through a firmware update later on, and WiFi and DigiMesh version will be brought to markets too. The first cellular module supports LTE Cat.1, but the company will eventually launch NB-IoT and eMTC (LTE Cat M) versions for Europe and the US respectively.

Some of the shared key capabilities listed by the company:

Over-the-air (OTA) changes to devices in the field for bug fixes and new features

Dynamic changes to behavior as requested from cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure (e.g., enabling real-time decisions based on local conditions)

Continue to operate during communications outages by dynamically executed logic that is not cloud-dependent

There are three RF models operating at 2.4 GHz up to 250 kbps, and available in the three package mentioned in the introduction (micro, surface mount, and though-hole):

Digi XBee3 ZigBee 3.0 supporting Zigbee Pro protocol

Digi XBee3 DigiMesh

Digi XBee3 802.15.4

Those modules, and corresponding development kits are certified for the US, Canada, and Europe.

XBee 3 Zigbee Mesh Kit – Click to Enlarge

There will be three cellular IoT models only available as through-hole module:

Digi XBee3 Cellular Cat-1

LTE Bands 2,4,5,12 and soon Verizon Band 13

10 Mbps Downlink / 5 Mbps Uplink

Certified for US & Canada

Current Draw Tx/Rx – 1Amp / 10uA (Low Power Mode) @3.3V

Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE-M

Verizon Bands: 4 and 13, and AT&T Bands: 2, 4, and 12.

Up to 375 kbps Uplink and Downlink

For US & Canada

Current Draw Tx/Rx – 550mA / 20uA (Power Save Mode) @3.3V

Digi XBee3 Cellular NB-IoT

Bands 8 and 20

Up to 27.2 kbps Downlink, 62.5 kbps Uplink

Certified for Europe

Current Draw Tx/Rx – 550mA / 20uA (Power Save Mode) @3.3V

XBee 3 Cellular Development Kit – Click to Enlarge

More information is available about the modules and development kit on XBee product page. However, you won’t easily find any pricing information on their website, so instead I had to do a web search about the part numbers to find out XB3-24Z8CM-J micro Xbee Zigbee 3.0 module is sold for $14.70, the XBee3 Zigbee Mesh development kit (XK3-Z8S-WZM) for $99, Digi XBee3 Cellular Smart Modem, LTE CAT 1 (XB3-C-A1-UT-001) for $99 as well, and the corresponding AT&T development kit (XK3-C-A1-UT-U) for $199.﻿